NOVEL NEXT chapter 119
119 – Transfer
119
The past few years have been the best time for 1860 Munich.
A team that once fell to the third division and proved that there was no end to their decline has returned to the Bundesliga and is now considered a strong team in the league, which is a remarkable achievement for the Munich executives.
Moreover, the massive investment in core players has been a huge success, and the enormous prize money and broadcasting rights revenue from European competitions have revitalized the club’s finances.
If they can maintain this momentum for a few more years, they can once again become a powerhouse representing Germany.
However, the Munich executives, who were dreaming of a bright future, soon faced harsh reality.
“What… why are there so many inquiries?!”
As the transfer market approached, numerous inquiries began to flood in.
It wasn’t unexpected.
However, as is often the case with bad expectations, reality exceeded expectations.
“All the players are receiving inquiries!”
Recently, with the improved financial situation, they could easily replace 1 or 2 players, but it wasn’t just 1 or 2 players – it was 11 or 12 players, which would bankrupt the club regardless of the cost.
“We lack front office staff!”
Moreover, the club’s staff, who were supposed to respond to the transfer inquiries, were also insufficient.
The small club 1860 Munich, which once fell to the third division, also had a small staff size.
The Munich executives, who were facing a comprehensive crisis, took drastic measures.
“Reject them all! What kind of transfer is this at a time like this? We’ll only accept unavoidable transfers and reject the rest!”
“But if we reject them unconditionally, the players will get upset. If we reject them without a thought, it’ll be chaos.”
“What the…! Why are they swarming around our small club like piranhas?!”
The Munich executives realized why teams that were on a roll in the past couldn’t maintain their momentum.
Being on a roll wasn’t exclusive to Munich. However, it was rare for a team to maintain their momentum and become a strong team in the league.
Most teams that were on a roll eventually disintegrated.
Good players with low transfer fees and salaries were right in front of them, and which club wouldn’t want to snatch them up?
However, they couldn’t just reject the offers unconditionally, as it was the club’s position, but the players had different thoughts.
For example, if a small company received a scouting offer from a large corporation.
Right? Loyalty? Of course, those are good words. However, good words don’t put food on the table. They become powerless in the face of a doubled or tripled salary.
Forcingly blocking the transfer would only lead to dissatisfaction.
The remaining options were to persuade them by emphasizing loyalty or to offer a significant salary increase through contract renewal.
“We can’t keep everyone. Let’s tie down the core players with contract renewals and find replacement players for the rest.”
The problem was that there wouldn’t be enough budget left.
“If we renew contracts like this, where will we get the money to recruit new players? If we renew contracts now, the salary budget will at least double!”
“What if we don’t renew contracts and just keep the players? It’s not like we can just block them!”
“Ah, then where will the recruitment budget come from?!”
“The profits have increased several times, but it’s all spent on the budget! You’re not even thinking about the transfer fee!”
“That’s because it’s all been used for the training facility and stadium remodeling costs! Moreover, we need to re-sign the coaching staff, and add more coaches, scouts, and front office personnel. Where is the money supposed to come from?!”
As the team’s status rises, so do the expenses, but if the performance doesn’t improve, the profits will drop.
To maintain the performance, we need to invest again, and if we invest but still can’t maintain the performance, the profits will drop again, creating a vicious cycle.
However, for Munich, this was just a secondary problem.
With the recent two consecutive seasons of excellent performance, they have gained quite a bit of financial leeway.
But—
“…We’ve received an official offer for Joo Ji-tae and Jo Jae-sin.”
The departure of these two core players, who are impossible to replace, was Munich’s biggest problem.
* * *
As always, the World Cup produced new stars.
Especially in this World Cup, Korean players shone brightly, rising to stardom.
There was Oh Seung-hwan, who scored 19 goals for AS Roma and showcased his peak skills, only to suffer an injury before the World Cup, but eventually recovered to score 3 goals.
There was Kim Chan-gi, who played well as a substitute for West Ham.
And Kim Seong-ho, who played as a starter for Marseille, scoring 2 goals.
Others, such as Cha Jun-sang, Na Si-hyun, Kim Soo-han, No Han-ho, and Go Tae-ho, also received attention, but—
What caught the world’s attention the most were Joo Ji-tae and Jo Jae-sin.
These two aces, who led the team to a third-place finish in the World Cup, beating powerhouses like the Netherlands, Italy, and Brazil, were the stars of the tournament.
Jo Jae-sin, who won the Silver Boot with 9 goals in the U-20 World Cup and then finished second in scoring in the World Cup, was impressive, but Joo Ji-tae had a dazzling career that was hard to believe.
He won the Golden Ball in the U-20 World Cup, leading Korea to victory, and then, at just 19 years old, won the Bronze Boot and the Young Player Award in the World Cup.
It’s rare to find a player with such an incredible career at the age of 19.
It’s a legendary career that’s comparable to Pele or Maradona.
Having such a player was a blessing, but Munich was in a predicament.
『’Honey Pot’ 1860 Munich is being targeted by predators』
『Will Korea’s World Cup star leave Germany?』
『Germany’s conqueror Joo Ji-tae catches Manchester City’s attention』
『Chelsea prepares 100 million euros for the ‘John Terry of the East’!』
『Juventus “has no plans to sign a player who disrespects Italy” amid rumors of Joo Ji-tae’s transfer?』
『New rich club Newcastle is confident in signing Joo Ji-tae and Jo Jae-sin duo!』
“Ugh… what do we do?”
“Manchester United has inquired about Joo Ji-tae. What do we do?”
“Arsenal has offered a trade with Jo Jae-sin, including cash and a player!”
“This is crazy! Newcastle has offered to sign both Joo Ji-tae and Jo Jae-sin!”
The team’s core and future were at stake.
“No transfer! We can’t sell them! Let’s declare NFS no matter what!”
“Are you crazy? You know the buyout clause will be triggered next year, and the price will drop by half every year, right?”
“I’d rather not get a single penny and just hold on to them until their contracts expire! They’re the team’s core and future!”
“Will they even play properly? If we’re going to do this, let’s get as much of the transfer fee as possible and make the team stronger! We re-signed them with this in mind, didn’t we?”
The argument went back and forth, but the noisy meeting room eventually calmed down.
“Let’s try to keep them for as long as possible. The players are satisfied with their lives here, and we made it to the Champions League again, didn’t we? Let’s make another contract offer and… even if they reject it, we still have time to negotiate.”
“That’s right. Those two are already the core of the team, and they’re only 19 years old, the future of the team. We can’t let them go.”
“Hmm. I’m sorry to the two players, but… we’ll notify them through their agent. It’s NFS.”
The atmosphere, which seemed to be heading towards an impossible transfer, suddenly changed—
“Wait, Chelsea has offered 1.1 billion euros…”
“1.1 billion?”
The situation changed in an instant.
“Whoa! Barcelona has offered 1.25 billion euros!!”
“What’s going on…”
“Real Madrid! Real Madrid has officially offered 1.35 billion euros!!”
“…Hmm. 1 billion is too hard to resist.”
The amount was too great to refuse.
* * *
“Joo Ji-tae, the team has officially accepted the offer!!”
CEO Jung Seon-woo rushed in, holding several documents.
Joo Ji-tae looked at each document with a calm expression.
“PSG. These oil tycoons were expected… Newcastle? They’re not pushovers either. They’re trying to sign me and another player at the same time? Are they crazy about money?”
The offers from PSG and Newcastle, representatives of the oil tycoons in the current football world, were expected.
“The transfer fee is 1.45 billion euros, with a guaranteed annual salary of 220 million euros. They’re indeed oil tycoons.”
“Yes. The conditions from those two teams are the best. As you can see, they’re generous with salaries, incentives, and options.”
It seemed that the reports from those two teams were the most attractive, and their agent fees were also the highest.
Joo Ji-tae calmly moved on to the next one.
“And what about Chelsea and Manchester City?”
“Unfortunately, in the EPL, only Chelsea and Manchester City have officially made an offer. Chelsea has offered 1.25 billion euros, divided into installments, and Manchester City has offered 1.2 billion euros, with annual salaries of 160 million euros and 165 million euros, respectively. It’s a considerable transfer fee, even for an EPL team…”
The transfer fee was around 17-20 billion won, and the annual salary was around 2.2-3.2 billion won.
…The difference in annual salary was absurd.
“And what about Barcelona and Real Madrid? Or is Barcelona, that small team, trying to sign me with money?”
“They’re reorganizing their team and taking out a bank loan. They’re willing to make a big signing, even in a financial crisis, because they can’t let you go. So, the salary is a bit lacking, at 130 million euros. But they’ve been generous with options. Real Madrid has promised an annual salary of 150 million euros.”
Hmm.
After glancing through the documents, Joo Ji-tae quickly made his decision.
“It’s only natural that the best player goes to the best team. Tradition and foundation are the most important. Rather than a small team like Barcelona, it’s—”
“Ah, wait! Real Madrid said they want to give me the opportunity to play with the best player, Fernando Alvarez.”
Joo Ji-tae nodded.
“Alright. I’ll start preparing from today.”